Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has conceded that there are "problems" with New Delhi's ties with China but overall he believes "relations are quite good."

"We have problems, the border problem is a long-standing problem," Singh told reporters accompanying him home on Wednesday night from a summit of Brazil, India and South Africa in Pretoria.

Despite a brief but bloody border war in 1962 and several rounds of talks, lingering territorial disputes between India and China remain unresolved.

Singh said he hoped to "find ways and means by which the two neighbours can live in peace and amity despite the persistence of the border problem."

"But overall our relations are quite good," the Indian prime minister said, according to the Press Trust of India.